Closing the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme: A Triple Loss

Despite temporary migration programmes (TMPs) being heralded as achieving a triple
win – whereby the host state, the sending state and the migrants themselves all benefit
– the UK government has now terminated all such programmes, including the longstanding
Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS). At the same time, TMPs
have been heavily criticised by both the academic and policy sectors, as they tie workers
to employers in rigid ways and lack integration measures. This paper reviews the
SAWS scheme, including the policy evolution of the programme and the reasons for
the closure. We argue that the government is inflicting a multiple loss scenario,
whereby permanent immigration may increase, labour market shortages will be rife,
remittances and skills transfers will be lost, and irregular immigration and in turn
exploitation of migrant worker rights may be exacerbated. Whilst the policy design of
SAWS was far from perfect, we argue that a modified version, targeting agricultural
students, should be retained, which could restore the triple-win scenario.